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STOP THE TAX BILL COSTS FROM CLIMBING

Two months into the new tax regime, an unprecedented number of drafting mistakes have surfaced that could mean billions more in lost tax revenue—and even more debt than the staggering $1.5 trillion passed in the middle of the night by Republicans.

Party leaders may want to correct their errors by adding technical fixes to the next must-pass budget bill. We too want the errors fixed, but we also want more: a fair tax code, and protection for social programs.

Don’t buy Republicans’ claims that cuts to social programs inevitably follow tax cuts as night follows day. This is a self-inflicted problem and . . .

GREG WALDEN is right in the middle of it!

In case you missed this, here’s a Walden quote regarding taxes from a Gary Warner article in The Bulletin following the GOP conclave in Salem this past weekend:

“They earned the money, and we wanted them to keep a little more of the money,” Walden said, adding, “They call it crumbs.”

He joked about the weekly protests at his district office in Bend, calling out the group Indivisible Bend by name. “Every Tuesday, it’s ‘Trump Tuesday’ at my office,” Walden said, adding, “Maybe we’ll serve crumb cake this week.”

The long-term solution is to make the 2018 election count, and end the terms of those who voted for the Trump Tax Scam. We’re already working on the appropriate recipe for Greg.

But for now, Republicans need Democrats’ support in the Senate for any technical fixes. Democrats should not give their votes easily. They should call for hearings so that the American people can assess the damage, and know what will be done. And we need our Senators, especially Senator Wyden, who is the ranking member of the Finance Committee, to keep fighting for a fair tax plan and to stop any cuts to social programs.

Protect our Social Safety Net!

SAMPLE SCRIPT for Lobbyist Greg Walden:
“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent and voter from [city], Oregon [zip code]. The irresponsible tax bill Greg Walden helped write and supported contains many drafting errors that could increase the deficit even more than the expected $1.5 trillion. Any technical fixes to this error-ridden tax law MUST NOT further increase the deficit. In fact, tell Mr. Walden it’s time to put people before donors, to roll up his sleeves, and to fix this mess he helped create—with revenue positive solutions. Thank you.”

SAMPLE SCRIPT for Senator Ron Wyden:
“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent and voter from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because I want Senator Wyden to fight for a fair tax code to protect Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and other social programs. Any technical fixes to the error-ridden tax law cannot further increase the deficit. They must be at least revenue neutral, if not revenue positive. I also ask him, as ranking member of the Senate Finance committee, to call for hearingsso that the American people can understand what happened and why. Thank you.”

SAMPLE SCRIPT for Senator Jeff Merkley:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent and voter from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because I want Senator Merkley to fight for a fair tax code to protect Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and other social programs. Any technical fixes to the error-ridden tax law cannot further increase the deficit. They must be at least revenue neutral, if not revenue positive. Thank you.”

**ACTION 2: Raise this Issue on Social Media**

Pass along this call to action, and the message that we will have to pay even more for the tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations if these tax fixes go through unaddressed.